End users send and receive a large amount of data not only privately on the Internet, but also for business purposes via the federal government’s networks. The Internet Protocol (IP) ensures that the data finds its way from the sender to the recipient.

This is a network protocol that is the standard for data connections today. The standard exists in two versions: the conventional IPv4 and the enhanced IPv6.

The Internet Protocol packages the information to be transmitted in data packets and regulates how the data packets are transmitted from the point of origin to their respective destination. In order for this to work, each participant in the network needs its own IP address.

Public Autonomous System Numbers (also known as AS numbers or ASNs for short) form the basis for end users being able to access IT services on the Internet. They determine the data flow paths between the autonomous systems into which the Internet is divided.

Our Local Internet Registry (LIR) de.government represents the central point through which all public administration organisations can obtain Internet address resources – in particular, IP addresses and AS numbers. We do not issue Internet address resources directly to the individual users, but only to the relevant sub-LIRs.

Federal authorities are obligated to obtain their IP addresses and AS numbers via the LIR de.government. The federal states and municipalities can use the service as an option.

And, by the way: the allocation and management of public administration Internet address resources are classified as sovereign tasks. By fulfilling the function of the LIR for the public administration, we are making a contribution to Germany’s digital sovereignty.